---
title: Uploading a File to Create a Source
description: Upload GeoJSON, Shapefile, KML, GPX, CSV, .podaris, GTFS or TransXChange files to create a dataset or transport network. Accepted formats and size limits.
---

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3. [Adding & Importing Sources](https://support.podaris.com/projects?hsLang=en#adding-importing-sources)

# Uploading a File to Create a Source

## Create a dataset or transport network from a file on your computer, without leaving the asset library.

As well as picking sources that already exist in Podaris, the asset library can create one from a file you upload. The upload runs in the same window, so you can name the new project, set its privacy, and choose where it is saved before anything is imported.

### Starting an upload

There are two ways in:

- Click **Upload file** at the bottom of the sidebar in the asset library when already open. ![Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 17.27.19](https://support.podaris.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.27.19.png?width=215&height=50&name=Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.27.19.png)
- On the home screen, click New and choose a template that starts from a file: **GTFS File** for a Network, or **GIS File** for a Dataset. The asset library opens straight onto the upload panel.  
  ![Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 17.28.46](https://support.podaris.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.28.46.png?width=188&height=109&name=Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.28.46.png)

 

### Choosing what you are uploading

Pick the type of source you want to create:

- **Dataset** for spatial data and Podaris dataset files.
- **Transport Network** for transport networks and Podaris project files.

This may be already selected for you depending on where you opened the library from. The sidebar then lists the file types and size limits that apply.

![Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 17.30.52](https://support.podaris.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.30.52.png?width=670&height=454&name=Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.30.52.png)

 

### Accepted formats and size limits

| Format | Extension | Maximum size |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GeoJSON | .geojson, .json | 30 MB |
| KML | .kml | 30 MB |
| GPX | .gpx | 30 MB |
| CSV | .csv | 30 MB |
| Shapefile (zipped) | .zip | 30 MB |
| Podaris project or dataset | .podaris | 100 MB |
| GTFS or TransXChange feed (zipped) | .zip | 250 MB |

If you need to import a bigger file, let us know.

 

### Selecting the file

Drag a file onto the dropzone, or click **Select file**. Podaris checks the file and tells you what it found, shown as a **Detected as** label on the file card, so you can confirm you picked the right thing before continuing. ZIP files are opened and identified automatically as a Shapefile, a GTFS feed, or a TransXChange feed.

Click **Continue** when the file card looks right. Use **Replace** to swap the file, or the cross to clear it.

![Screenshot 2026-08-18 at 17.35.10](https://support.podaris.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.35.10.png?width=670&height=422&name=Screenshot%202026-08-18%20at%2017.35.10.png)

 

### Working through GTFS and TransXChange options

Feed uploads then take you through different import options, one stage at a time inside the panel: choosing agencies, filtering by date, and setting the import options. Use Next and Back to move between them, then Continue on the last stage.

For more detail on each stage, see [Filtering Network Imports by Agency](https://support.podaris.com/filtering-network-imports-by-agency?hsLang=en), [Filtering Network Imports by Date](https://support.podaris.com/filtering-network-imports-by-date?hsLang=en), and [Network Import Options](https://support.podaris.com/network-import-options?hsLang=en).

If you upload GIS data as a Transport Network and it contains points, you will also be asked to match the file's attributes to Podaris station fields.

 

### Setting up the new project

Your upload now appears as a draft in the detail view, where you can finish setting it up before it is created:

- Edit the **title** at the top of the window.
- Set **Visibility** and **Public access**. See [Project Visibility, Self-Join, License, Cloning & Public Access Settings](https://support.podaris.com/privacy-settings?hsLang=en) for what each option does.
- Check the destination. The card reads "This upload will create a new project in" followed by the folder path, and the button beside it lets you choose a different folder.
- Click **Generate preview** to see the file drawn on the map, which is a quick way to catch a file that has landed in the wrong part of the world. Previews are not available for TransXChange uploads.
- Optionally draw a boundary on the map to import only the features inside it if the file can be imported.

Click the button in the bottom right to finish. Larger uploads are queued and you will be notified when the new source is ready.

**Note**: The file you upload will be created as a project that you can view in your homepage, and can be viewed, edited, imported, and referenced in the same way as your other projects.

![Screen Recording 2026-08-18 at 17.35.25](https://support.podaris.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screen%20Recording%202026-08-18%20at%2017.35.25.gif?width=670&height=426&name=Screen%20Recording%202026-08-18%20at%2017.35.25.gif)

 

### If something goes wrong

Podaris checks your file as soon as you choose it, so problems appear straight away and the message tells you what to change. If the file itself needs work first:

- Too large: see [Working with large datasets](https://support.podaris.com/working-with-large-datasets?hsLang=en) for datasets, or [Troubleshooting Transport Network Imports](https://support.podaris.com/troubleshooting-transport-network-imports?hsLang=en) for feeds.
- Coordinates in the wrong place, usually a projected coordinate system: see [Troubleshooting dataset imports](https://support.podaris.com/troubleshooting-dataset-imports?hsLang=en).
- No features Podaris can use: check the file in a GIS application before trying again.

If your file is still not importing, please contact let us know.

 

### Things to keep in mind

- The new project is only created when you finish the upload, so backing out earlier leaves nothing behind.
- Podaris does not support multipart geometries. They are flattened into single-part features on import.
- Uploading is a one-off. To keep a source up to date, maintain it as its own project and reference it rather than re-uploading the file.

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